


The River Between Them

by tinknevertalks



Series: Tumblr Prompts [4]
Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Actually in Oxford, F/M, Pre Jack the Ripper, Pre-Relationship, oxford era, post Source Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 17:45:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15369945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinknevertalks/pseuds/tinknevertalks
Summary: Helen strolls the grounds one sunny morning.





	The River Between Them

**Author's Note:**

> I found this prompt on Tumblr: _Imagine Person A seeing Person B shirtless for the first time._ And yeah... I like pre-ship Teslen. XD Anyways, this was more short riffing on my blog, so unbeta'd (any mistakes etc etc). Enjoy!

Helen Magnus was not in the habit of walking the grounds of the university alone (too many of the young men found it appropriate to attempt conversation when they hadn’t been properly introduced - at least, that was the excuse she used) but the morning she had awoken to called for a stroll along part of the many paths that decorated the university. The sun unusually strong, parasol in hand, each step off the carefully designated path took her closer to the wild nature still caged away in areas, the grass growing longer, the bushes larger, the trees fuller.

It was in one such area where she saw him, laid on the bank next to the river, skin glistening slightly in the early morning sunshine. His usually slicked back hair appeared to be drying haphazardly, sticking out every which way as if he’d been shocked by the electricity that he so dearly loved and tried to tame. Her eyes delighted at the sight of him so relaxed, unlike his demeanour in lectures and labs, drinking in his whole visage - slightly pale (but who wasn’t? This was England after all, even if the sun shone bright today) but wiry, built for speed and stealth.

(She would deny the quickening of her heart at the thought of him stealing into her room at night and–)

Their eyes met, Nikola having sat up, the steady rise and fall of his breathing apparent without his usual attire. Helen felt her cheeks flush at being caught, especially when he smirked so devilishly, almost knowingly, but she maintained their eye contact resolutely.

Thank heavens for the Isis between them.

Hoping his eagle eyes would miss her moistening her lips, she nodded and smiled before languidly walking downstream, away from him and his glistening skin, almost unsurprised to hear a gentle splash from behind her.

“Good morning Helen,” he greeted, floating alongside her. He sounded entirely too confident and smug, and she loathed to admit she enjoyed the tone. “Care to join me?”

That stopped her. Visions crowded her head of joining him, splashing merrily, warmth blossoming, lips touching– “No, thank you. I’m happy to be a spectator today,” she informed him, looking at him treading water effortlessly, as if he were a pagan river deity.

An exceedingly tempting deity.

He smiled, eyes glittering like the water surrounding him as Helen noticed his wandering gaze. What could he be imagining in that quicksilver mind of his? Her cheeks flushed again and she cursed her traitorous skin when his smile transformed to a smirk.

“Well, should you ever wish to join me…” His voice trailed away as their eyes met again. Heat suffused his and Helen suddenly felt the need to escape quickly lest she changed her mind and discovered the relative heat of his body against hers in the cold embrace of the Isis.

Gathering her wits, she bade him farewell and walked away, locking away the memories of wet, smug, shirtless Nikola and the thrill of his gaze on her.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, yeah, they probably had a swimming pool at Oxford but I liked this idea more. XP


End file.
